People of faith in Tucson are
raising awareness about the implications of global warming on the
planet. "The Earth has rights, and to care for the Earth we can't do
it in the abstract," said the Rev. Stuart Taylor of St. Mark's
Presbyterian Church in Midtown. Sylvia Thorson-Smith, a St. Mark's
elder and a retired professor of sociology and religious studies,
believes that "Jesus was deeply rooted in the Earth."

The church leaders are encouraging
their congregation to replace older heating and cooling systems with
new, efficient models; clean the condenser coil on the refrigerator;
turn off computers at night and putting them in a power-save mode;
wash clothes in warm or cold water; and buying in bulk, which
reduces packaging.

The church also is considering
banning non-vegetarian food from its premises because as Susan
Manker-Seale, church's minister, says "Eating beef is a huge
pollutant of the Earth."